Concept of Illness

 Meaning of Illness

          According to Ayurveda a disease begins when an individual is out of harmony with environment. When we take in inappropriate impressions from our environment through any of our five senses, we weaken the body and create an internal environment which supports the creation of disease. In this environment bacteria, viruses and other pathogens thrive, and muscles tense and alter the function of vertebra interfering with nerve function. We could say that energy flow is disrupted in the body and illness occurs (Halpern, M).

 

A disrupted or disturbed physical or psychological state consequent of some disease or inappropriate condition. John Wanamaker said, “People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness”.

          Usually, illness is defined in terms of five major structural components:

          (i)       Identity,

          (ii)      Cause,

          (iii)     Time line,

          (iv)     Consequences, and

          (v)      Cure

 

(i)      Identity – This component implies a certain recognition of the presence of the disease which in turn function as a type of knowledge or clue that guides the individual to seek help (Lau et al., 1989). Symptoms and labels of a given disease)

(ii)     Cause – Cause is also known as aetiology and aetiology which means the reason or origination of something (Rothman et al., 2008).

(iii)    Timeline – The timeline of illness refers to the time period from infection to gradual progression to the level of physical manifestation.

(iv)    Consequences – It refers to the modification of internal functional ability of an individual. 

(v)     Cure – A psycho-physical state after the treatment of illness where the sign & symptoms of illness are extinct. The term "cure" means that, after treatment, the patient no longer has that particular condition anymore (Dowshen, 2018).

 

References:

1.       http://www.ayurvedacollege.com/articles/drhalpern/Cause_Cure _Disease.

2.       https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/curable.html.

3. https://www.cdc.gov/OPHSS/CSELS/DSEPD/SS1978/Lesson1/ Section9.html#TXT118.

4.       Rothman, Kenneth J.; Greenland, Sander; Poole, Charles; Lash, Timothy L. (2008). "Causation and Causal Inference". Modern Epidemiology (Third ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-7817-5564-1.

 

 

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